Time Table (JST) and Reception Desk

• 15 July 2024: Open the first stage call for panels. [Click here to access Microsoft Forms for input.]
• 31 August 2024: Deadline for panels submission. The first call of the first stage was closed.
• 10 September 2024: Deadline of the Second Call for Panels (the first stage). [Click here to access Microsoft Forms for input.] The second call of the first stage was closed.
• 30 September 2024: Open panels accepted [and call for papers].
• 30 November 2024: Deadline for papers submission. Extended for 40 days until 10 January 2025. Due to unavoidable circumstances, the Conference has been postponed by one week, so additional abstract submissions was made available for five days, from 1 to 5 February (Japan time). Papers submission was closed on 5 February.
• 10 February 2025: Notification to authors of accepted submissions.
• 15 March 2025: Preliminary programme. Conference registration at the NMMS has begun.
• 25 May 2025: Final programme (but also still being finalised). A page on booking accommodation, two study visits, a dinner party and two after-conference tour options registration and the visa application process as an additional option is now open. You can purchase the additional options once you have first completed registration and payment for the conference. If you would like to see a map listing the locations where AAEH 2025 will take place, click here.
• 26 September – 2 October 2025: AAEH 2025 in Takamatsu and Teshima, Kagawa, Japan.
  

Reception Desk (in preparing)

Registration (JST) and VISA

• Early Bird registration: 15 March to 30 June 2025.
• Standard registration: 1 July to 15　September 2025.
• On site registration (in person): 26 to 30 September 2025
• Last-minute application (online): 26 to 30 September
• Details on conference registration fees:
  • The concept and criteria for the conference participation fee are based on the successfully held WCEH 2024. In many respects, we are also exploring the possibility of a full hybrid conference with regard to the purpose of holding the conference, the support of young and vulnerable people and the conference’s orientation towards zero emissions.
  • Early Bird registration (in person): High-income (gross income over 8 million yen): ¥35,000
    According to the criteria of WCEH 2024, the AAEH also „prioritises the attendance of precarious scholars using the high-income registration fees to subsidise the low-income registration fee, and also through funding travel and accommodation of many of those on low/no income.“ This fee includes:
    – in person and online access to five days of conference sessions
    – an opening drinks/sweets/refreshments reception with a free access ticket to Ritsurin Kōen (Garden), two lunches, four tea/coffee breaks, and a farewell party with drinks and refreshments
    – access to recordings of the plenary and parallel sessions after the conference.
  • Early Bird registration (in person): Medium-income (gross income 3 to 8 million yen): ¥25,000
    This fee includes:
    – in person and online access to five days of conference sessions
    – an opening drinks/sweets/refreshments reception with a free access ticket to Ritsurin Kōen (Garden), two lunches, four tea/coffee breaks, and a farewell party with drinks and refreshmentsl
    – access to recordings of the plenary and parallel sessions after the conference.
  • Early Bird registration (in person): Low-income (gross income less than 3 million yen): ¥15,000
    This fee includes:
    – in person and online access to five days of conference sessions
    – an opening drinks/sweets/refreshments reception with a free access ticket to Ritsurin Kōen (Garden), two lunches, four tea/coffee breaks, and a farewell party with drinks and refreshments
    – access to recordings of the plenary and parallel sessions after the conference.
  • Standard registration (in person): ¥45,000
    This fee includes:
    – in person and online access to five days of conference sessions
    – an opening drinks/sweets/refreshments reception with a free access ticket to Ritsurin Kōen (Garden), two lunches, four tea/coffee breaks, and a farewell party with drinks and refreshments
    – access to recordings of the plenary and parallel sessions after the conference.
  • Onsite registration (in person): ¥55,000
    This fee includes:
    – in person and online access to five days of conference sessions
    – an opening drinks/sweets/refreshments reception with a free access ticket to Ritsurin Kōen (Garden), two lunches, four tea/coffee breaks, and a farewell party with drinks and refreshments
    – access to recordings of the plenary and parallel sessions after the conference. 
  • Early Bird registration (online): High-income (gross income over 8 million yen): ¥25,000
    The aim of hybrids is to provide a rich conference experience for all, with participation in all panels and plenaries. However, the effort required to ensure both in-person and virtual participation and the preparation of essential electronic equipment including online contracts costs more than organising a non-hybrid conference. And the AAEH “prioritises the attendance of precarious scholars using the high-income registration fees to subsidise the low-income registration fee.”
    – The registration fee for virtual participation includes online access to all sessions and access to session recordings after the conference.
  • Early Bird registration (online): Medium-income (gross income 3 to 8 million yen): ¥20,000
    – The registration fee for virtual participation includes online access to all sessions and access to session recordings after the conference.
  • Early Bird registration (online): Low-income (gross income less than 3 million yen): ¥15,000
    – The registration fee for virtual participation includes online access to all sessions and access to session recordings after the conference.
  • Standard registration (online): ¥40,000
    – The registration fee for virtual participation includes online access to all sessions and access to session recordings after the conference.
  • Last-minute application (online): ¥50,000
    – The registration fee for virtual participation includes online access to all sessions and access to session recordings after the conference.
• Payment of the registration fee is to be made through your page on the NMMS of the AAEH. After 15 March, you will be able to register for the conference through paying it, but you will be able to pay for all items not included in the conference registration fee in addition to the above. An NMMS ID is required for any payment. Always make sure you have access to the NMMS.
• Payment can be made by credit card, bank transfer or PayPal. In the case of bank transfers, a payment fee is required. This fee is not included in the above. Please make sure to add the handling fee to your payment.
• This registration fee includes an opening drinks/sweets/refreshments reception with a free access one-day ticket to Ritsurin Kōen (Garden), two lunches, four tea/coffee breaks, and a farewell party with drinks and refreshments. Please choose to attend or not attend for the reception and the farewell party at your registration page on the NMMS.
• There will be a charge for the dinner planned for Monday 29 September. In addition to this, we will be asking for payment for study visits on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 September, if you wish to attend. After-conference tours and other activities are being prepared. These will be announced on 25 May.
• Cancellation: Registrations for this event are non-refundable. Please plan well in advance and register. Please note that if you have requested in-person participation but for various reasons have to participate online, you will not be reimbursed, but you will still have full access to online participation. If you have registered for online participation and switch to in-person participation, you will be asked to pay the difference in cash on site.
• VISA: For international participants who require documents for their VISA applications to come to Japan, the organisers can provide invitation letters, letters of guarantee, and schedules of your stay, etc., according to your requirements. These VISA applications will be accepted from 25 May 2025 on your page at the NMMS.
  • Each of all the visitors must have a valid passport to enter Japan. In addition, participants from certain countries require to have their VISAs. To confirm your requirements, please contact the Japanese Embassy or Consulate nearest to your residential area, or visit the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.
  • Request for Documents for VISA: The VISA support is aimed for the convenience of the VISA application procedure for the conference participants.
  • 1. Requests for VISA documents must be purchased as one of Additional Options, which will be launched on 25 May.
  • 2. After purchase, you will be contacted by the visa office address: visa@confaid.com (Secretariat: KUWON Inc.).
  • 3. The VISA document will then be issued once the purchase of the flight and accommodation has been confirmed.
  • Please note that we cannot guarantee that the documents we issue will allow you to travel.
  • Deadline for requesting assistance with VISA applications: 25 August 2025.
  • Payment in relation to VISA is built into the Additional Options, as already mentioned, so choose the payment option for VISA there.

Programme, venue, study visits , post-conference tours, accommodation, and funding

• Ritsurin Kōen (Garden), Takahara Watermill, Teshima, and Kagawa University in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan: a map with panoramic view of all AAEH 2025 locations. A page on booking accommodation, two study visits, a dinner party and two after-conference tour options registration and the visa application process as an additional option is now open. You can purchase the additional options once you have first completed registration and payment for the conference.)
• Two Study Visits on 27-28 September 2025 (Please select one or both on your page at the NMMS.)
  1. Water related folk cultural heritage: Takahara Watermill (A half-day study visit on Saturday 27 September): The giant wooden waterwheel, with a diameter of about 5 m, was built at the end of the Edo period, repaired repeatedly and driven by the Takahara family from 1902 onwards, resulting in the waterwheel being in operation for more than 300 years. In recent years, the waterwheel has been neglected due to dilapidation, but 11 years ago, in 2014, the sisters, who are descendants of the Takahara family, came up with the idea and self-financing, and with the help of waterwheel researchers, many engineers and friends, it was restored with new materials in 2018 and is still in operation today. In Sanuki, where water flows are not plentiful, a network of waterways with stone walls that cleverly utilises the topography of the old Furukawa River basin makes it possible to drive this huge wooden waterwheel. This is an indoor flour mill where the waterwheel powered the millstones, ground the wheat, sifted it and transported the remaining flour back to the millstones, all automated by a wooden device. Although the entire process has not yet been restored, a seminar on water will be held at the site of this highland water mill, where many traditional wisdom and techniques have been concentrated, and where the sound of the mill can be heard. This water mill is now listed as a Tangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan. It is hoped that new environmental-historical perspectives will be fostered through interaction with the sisters and the people who have restored this watermill.
  2. Autonomy of a remote island at the mercy of the Anthropocene: Teshima (A full-day study visit on Sunday 28 September): The Setouchi Art Festival is putting the islands of the Seto Inland Sea in a new limelight. The charm of the islands of the Seto Inland Sea is being made even more luminous by the power of art. With the influx of tourists, the huge triennial event is a contemporary art festival that allows visitors to experience the charms of the Seto Inland Sea during three seasons of the year – spring, summer and autumn – and lasts for approximately 100 days. During this period, approximately one million people, more than the population of Kagawa Prefecture, visit from home and abroad. Teshima Island in the town of Tonosho, Kagawa Prefecture, one of the islands in the Seto Inland Sea, is no exception. Teshima currently has a population of less than 800. It covers an area of 14.5 square kilometres, has a circumference of 17.9 kilometres and its highest peak, Mount Dan, is only 340 metres high. The island attracts nearly 200,000 visitors. Not only has the island’s daily life been transformed, but the pressure of art, also known as the “Black Ships” of the Heisei and Reiwa era, has also changed the face of the island. The Black Ship (Kurofune) is generally a generic term for the steam-powered warships that forced Japan to open its ports at the end of the early modern, Edo period. The Setouchi Art Festival has had such a powerful impact. In fact, Teshima was once called the island of industrial waste, as nearly one million tonnes of industrial waste was illegally dumped there. An autonomous grassroots residents’ movement has gradually formed since the 1970s, and the island is world-renowned for its history of successful pollution mediation against Kagawa Prefecture and the removal of its waste. However, that tradition is disappearing along with the falling birthrate and ageing population. AAEH 2025 is planning a plenary session on Teshima to consider the past and future of the “sea” surrounding Teshima and to observe various aspects of the island. A limited number of participants will also be able to observe various aspects of the island on site.
• Two post-conference bus tours on 1-2 October 2025 (Please select one of the following two options on your page at the NMMS.)
  1. Love the environment: Bizen-Okayama and Himeji (Wednesday and Thursday on 1-2 October):
     The sea and mountains, and the way in which the Japanese language is globally understood as „Satoumi“ and „Satoyama,“ how can we maintain harmony between the two and draw out their mutual strengths? On the first day, the tour will visit the Bizen area via the Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter in Okayama, the Hinase area, famous for oyster farming and for reviving the sea by restoring eelgrass, the national treasure Shizutani School and the Ichiyo Kiln (Ichiyo-Gama) of Bizen ware, and on the second day, Himeji Castle. This overnight bus tour includes lectures on the sea, mountains and Himeji Castle, one lunch and one breakfast, transport and accommodation. The tour departs from Takamatsu Station, travels by bus and ends at Himeji Station.
  2. Pray for peace: Hiroshima (Wednesday and Thursday on 1-2 October): Humanity has still not been able to avoid war. How has environmental history research been able to contribute to this problem? Kant once said that the natural state of humans living together is a state of war. We organised a tour to consider the meaning of praying for peace by visiting the Atomic Bomb Dome and Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum on the first day, which symbolise Japan as the only country in the world to have experienced the atomic bomb, and Itsukushima Shrine on the second day, which has a unique location on the Seto Inland Sea, once a strategic point for transportation. The overnight bus tour includes one breakfast, two lunches and one dinner, transport and accommodation. The tour departs from Takamatsu Station, travels by bus and ends at Hiroshima Station.
• Accommodation list with a map is available on the English site of Takamatsu Convention and Visitors Bureau. The AAEH 2025 Secretariat, with the support of JTB, has secured a certain number of rooms at the following hotels for the duration of the EARLY BIRD registration period. If you are unable to successfully book a hotel room on your own, please contact us (iceds.aaeh@gmail.com): Takamatsu Tokyu REI Hotel; WeBase Takamatsu; Hotel Wing International; Comfort Hotel Takamatsu; The Celecton; Rihga Hotel Zest Takamatsu; JR Hotel Clement Takamatsu.
• Study visit and after-conference tour participants can also choose to stay in Takamatsu and have easy access to the respective venues and departure stations. Although public transport is not convenient in a car-oriented region, we strongly recommend public transport, bicycles and walking. Directions to the various venues will be provided again soon, along with a map in details.
• Funding is still under consideration. There will be funding to assist with the participation costs of early career researchers and students who are registered as convenors of panels or authors of papers in AAEH 2025 and who plan to attend in person. However, at present, it is not possible to obtain new funds beyond asking for payments from high earners in conference participation fees, which would be a donation in conference participation fees. The management of this conference also requires a medium- to long-term perspective, and the Conference Steering Committee is struggling with this, but we would like to enhance the conference as much as possible and give consideration to early career researchers and postgraduate students.

Mission statement

The Asian Association for Environmental History is a dynamic organization dedicated to conducting and furthering research on Asian environmental issues through a historical lens and on global environmental issues through perspectives from and on Asia. Our membership is both interdisciplinary and international, reflecting the rich diversity and interconnectedness of Asian and related global environments necessary to investigate the deep time of human/natural history.

The objectives of our Association are:
– To promote scholarship that explores the intricate relationships between humans and the natural world, as well as interactions and intra-actions between humans and non-humans throughout history;

– To communicate with researchers from other fields, educators, and the public in learning about environmental issues from a historical perspective;

– To foster opportunities for planetary, regional, local, and comparative studies across a wide temporal spectrum within Asia and Asian diaspora.